Common Minor Guitar Chord Progressions

Consider the old standard, "Blues in the Night." Much depends upon the key in which you will play it, but you can count on using major and minor sixths and ninths as well as dominant sevenths. Some altered chords would be dominant sevenths with raised fifths.

Another classic could be "Sweet Georgia Brown." That's in the key of G, which modulates to the main chorus in the key of E.

Timespiral has the right idea. If you can figure out the last chord, you often have the key signature. Once you have the key signature, you can use a roman numerial system that professional musicians use to keep track of the chords in a particular key signature.

If you are in the Key of D, then:

I = D Major (most important chord)
ii = E minor
iii = F sharp minor
IV = G Major (3rd most important chord)
V = A Major or A7 (2nd most important chord)
vi = b minor (4th most important chord)
vii = c sharp diminished (harshest, least used chord)

Notice that the chords go in sequence. If your first chord is some kind of a C (C, C sharp, or C flat), then the next chord will be some kind of D. The chord after that will be some kind of E. If the next chord does not "fit" in its "natural" state, it might be an "flat" (e-flat) or a "sharp" (f-sharp).

Common chord patterns:

I--IV--V--I = [D Major--G Major--A Major/A7--D Major]
ii--V--I = [e minor--A7--D Major]
(ii--V--I is very common in Jazz and standards)
I--IV--vi--I = [D Major--G Major--b minor--D Major]
iii--vi--iii--IV--I

I(7)--IV(7)--I(7)--I(7) = [D7--G7--D7--D7]
IV(7)--IV(7)--I(7)--I(7) = [G7--G7--D7--D7]
V(7)--IV(7)--I(7)--V(7) = [A7--G7--D7--A7] {repeat}

This is the 12 bar blues; you'll be shocked at the number of songs with this chord progression!

The Major ("happy") chords are always I, V, and IV
The minor ("sad") chords are always vi, ii, and iii
V (especially V7) always wants to go to I

If you hear a Major chord in a song, the best guess is I.
If it's not I, try IV.
If it is neither I nor IV, try V.

If you hear a minor chord in a song, the best guess is vi.
If it's not vi, try ii.
If it is neither vi nor ii, try iii.

Good luck!

Hello....Would you believe that these are the first 4 chords that I learned too...way back in 1964! The progression G-Em-C-D (1-6m-4-5) is pretty versatile. So you're really having trouble with a few different issues. First, the progression. Well, that will all depend on the particular song. If you play them in this order : G-Em-C-D, you have played a couple dozen do-wop songs. It also works on a lot of folk songs like "If I Had A Hammer" Re-arrange them a little, and you have Neil Young's "Heart Of Gold"

The next thing you're asking about is the strum pattern. This will also change with every song. It's impossible for me to know exactly what strum pattern your instructor told you to practice. There are a lot of different ones. The most basic....used on Heart Of Gold...is all down strokes.

I would suggest you practice a basic down-up down-up strum. Don't hold the pick too tightly, and use your wrist rather than your entire arm. The pick needs to sweep over the strings, not dig into them, if that makes sense.

Start by just holding one chord and strumming. It's going to be boring, but repetition develops muscle memory. Down-up down-up. When you're comfortable with that, try changing chords while strumming. Here's a tip: keep your strum steady (as slow as necessary) and change chords during the up stroke.

Here's another tip: you don't have to start fresh with every chord fingering. If you're going from a G to Em, you'll notice that there is one note the two chords have in common....5th string second fret. Leave that finger in place when you change chords and use it as a pivot. If you're going from a G to C, you'll notice that the fingers on the two low strings keep the same position, just move over one string. (Be sure to learn G using your pinky finger on the high string!!!) The less finger movement between chords, the faster you can change.

Chances are that your instructor gave you a specific progression and strum pattern to practice. If you can remember it, just apply the above suggestions to his strum. Otherwise, just practice some of the things I mentioned.....you'll need them anyway. Feel free to email me with any questions...but above all, be honest with your instructor. It doesn't matter what you think he *expects* of you. If you don't understand something, or need to go slower....tell him. He'll understand. Best of luck.